From Motor Mouth To Locksmith - Saying Tehillim

Since Hebrew is not my native language it has taken me years of saying Tehillim before I started connecting to what I was saying. Even to this day I continue to use an Hebrew/English interlinear version to aid my understanding.

Much of my past difficulty getting past a motor mouth recitation was a result of my lack of knowledge on how to approach this holy sefer. On a blank page inside my sefer Tehillim, I wrote down two quotes that have helped me connect to its words:

"But whatever Tehillim you recite, do not say them as if they were a report of what Dovid HaMelech said thousands of years ago. Rather, say them as if this is what Dovid purposefully arranged just for you."

(Piaceszna Rebbe)

"It is possible to reach all these gates [of teshuva] and open them by reciting Tehillim. You should concentrate when you recite Tehillim. Then you will be able to reach all forty-nine gates."

(Rebbe Nachman of Breslov)